The present invention is directed to a support rack which is adapted for suspending a flexible plastic bag in an opened condition while simultaneously buttressing the bag to facilitate the loading of articles therein.
The use of flexible plastic bags in retail supermarkets for packaging merchandise, such as groceries, is becoming more prevalent. Because such bags are flexible by nature, some means must be provided for suspending the flexible bags in an opened condition while simultaneously buttressing the bags to facilitate the loading of articles therein.
To that end, many forms of supports for flexible bags have been devised. One such apparatus for supporting a flexible bag is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,170. Unfortunately, supports for flexible bags of this type have not been totally successful. For example, the apparatus described in the aforementioned patent includes side and bottom walls which are formed from solid sheet metal resulting in a rather heavy structure. Furthermore, the apparatus described in the aforementioned patent does not include handles or other similar structure. Both the excessive weight and lack of handles detracts from the portability of the apparatus. Portability of such an apparatus is extremely necessary in a retail supermarket environment wherein the bag supports must be moved from one checkout counter to another in order to accommodate varying bagging work load conditions.
Furthermore, bag support structures of the prior art have generally required specially designed accompanying apparatus for holding the bag supports during use. This also encumbers the use of such devices in an environment in which flexibility is a very important factor.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved support apparatus which is adapted to maintain a flexible bag in an open condition while simultaneously buttressing the bag to facilitate the loading of articles therein.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flexible bag support apparatus which takes the form of a rack comprising a skeletal, open frame having a plurality of horizontal and vertical rod members joined together to form a back support and confronting side supports for receiving a flexible bag to thereby minimize the weight of the bag support.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a support rack adapted for suspending a plastic bag in an open condition while simultaneously buttressing the bag to facilitate the loading of articles therein, wherein the support rack includes a bag holding means by which flexible bags to be supported may be conveniently and securely held by the rack in a ready condition for use.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a support rack for flexible plastic bags which includes a bag suspending means for suspending the bags in an open condition and which also provides handles for the rack to render the rack conveniently portable.